Nursing Commons^™

Portraits Of Nursing Resilience: Listening For A Story, Vicki Cope

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The nursing workforce in Australia is a workforce under pressure. Within in-patient settings, rapidly increasing turnover of more acutely ill or co-morbid patients, and staff retention issues, place those staff that remain under extra pressure to maintain a quality service. In nurse education settings the increasing imperative to recruit more students into the profession combined with financial cutbacks leading to staff retention issues creates a similar tension. Yet many Registered Nurses (RNs) do remain in their chosen work setting displaying tenacity and resilience despite well documented trials and tribulations.

A qualitative approach, Portraiture, was used to construct a collection of …

Covert Violence In Nursing: A Western Australian Experience, Susette Bakker

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Covert violence in the workplace has been extensively theorized amongst social scientists as having negative effects on the worker’s self esteem, job satisfaction and stress, resulting in increased absenteeism and a reduction in productivity, and yet it continues to fester in nursing. The purpose of this research was twofold. The first was to answer the question, ‘What are the characteristics of covert violence experienced by Western Australian nurses?’ and through the description of Western Australian nurses’ experience of covert violence and describe the characteristics related to this to form a definition of covert violence. The second question was ‘What are …

Vitamin D: Implications Of The Institute Of Medicine Report For Clinical Practice, Dorothy Grasso, Margaret A. Rafferty

Publications and Research

In November 2010, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D, a radical departure from previous advice given regarding these two nutrients that have been reported in respected health journals. The 14-member expert committee found clear and convincing evidence to support the association between adequate levels of vitamin D and bone health. The IOM committee did not find enough evidence to support claims that inadequate levels of vitamin D are linked to increased risks for cancer, cardiovascular disease, or diabetes. In this article, the authors discuss the controversy surrounding vitamin D and provide guidance …

Bridging The Gap: Nurse Mentorship Program, Jacqueline J. Johnson

Theses and Graduate Projects

High-quality, effective mentorship can be a crucial and valuable tool in recruiting, retaining, and supporting nurses' success, especially novice registered nurses. In the current healthcare environment, growth and development of nursing staff is essential to maintain quality outcomes. Mentorship programs can create a unique environment that facilitates educational opportunities for both the novice and expert registered nurse. Nursing leaders and organizations can make lasting impacts through mentoring relationships. Through effective mentorship, nurses can positively impact healthcare organization, improve job satisfaction, promote professional development, and empower themselves. Even more important is that mentoring can result in improved nursing care, high-quality healthcare, …

Developing A Nursing Based Support Group For Incarcerated Women Survivors Of Childhood Sexual Assault: Pathways For Healing, Paula Johns

Theses and Graduate Projects

Every year large numbers of women are incarcerated in jail, prisons or other correctional jurisdictions in America. Research has shown that more than half of these women report a history of sexual abuse as a child, many who have rarely told their story. Typical coping mechanisms for those who have been traumatized sexually are attempts to commit suicide, the use and abuse of drugs and alcohol, running away, disassociation, becoming promiscuous, or eating disorders, etc. These early adaptations at a young age can influence nearly every parameter of their lives, contributing to numerous other negative consequences, such as increased physical …

Creating A Culture Of Caring In The Perianesthesia Practice, Tammy S. Bergan

Theses and Graduate Projects

Caring has been described as the essence of nursing. What nurses do as they care for patients and others is multi-dimensional, complex, and essential. Nursing's ability to clearly define and articulate what caring is guides the ethics, values, decisions, and foundations of nursing practice. Caring evokes a range of perceptions, feelings, and experiences for the patient and nurse in the perianesthesia specialty setting. Caring as a pillar of the nursing profession is explored on several levels for the perianesthesia setting. Aspects of caring include perceptions of caring, what denotes a caring environment, the role of nursing leadership in a caring …

An Investigation Of The Relationship Among Social Support, Motivation, Perceived Competence, And Pursuit Of A Baccalaureate Degree Among Associate Degree Nurse Graduates, Margaret Joyce Reilly

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The Institute of Medicine Reports of the last ten years highlight the increased complexity of health care and the need for new ways for health providers to respond. While other professional programs have adapted to the growing complexity of the healthcare system and implemented increased educational requirements for entry to practice, notably pharmacy and physical therapy, nursing has not, and remains the least educated among health professionals The growing trend towards a two year Associate Degree as the initial nursing education degree is increasing at the same time that patient needs are becoming more complicated and health care is becoming …

Football Reminiscence For Men With Dementia: Lessons From A Realistic Evaluation, Debbie Tolson, I Schofield

Professor Debbie Tolson

No abstract provided.

Physician, Patient, And Contextual Factors Affecting Treatment Decisions In Older Adults With Cancer And Models Of Decision Making: A Literature Review, Joseph D. Tariman Phd

Joseph D Tariman PhD, RN, ANP-BC, FAAN

No abstract provided.

Bgrg New Orleans Workgroup Report: Priority Recommendations For Consideration In The 2012 Black Gay Men's Research Agenda, Sheldon D. Fields

Sheldon D. Fields

No abstract provided.

Volume Measures Using A Digital Image Analysis System Are Reliable In Diabetic Foot Ulcers, Sue Gardner, Rita Frantz, Stephen Hillis, Thomas Blodgett, Lorraine Femino, Shannon Lehman

Thomas Blodgett

Reliable measures of wound size are critical to wound healing research and clinical management. Measurement of full-thickness wounds is increasingly being done using digital images and photogrammetric software, such as VeVMD (Vista Medical, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada), to estimate wound volume. The reliability of VeVMD in determining wound volume is unknown. The present study sought to examine the reliability of wound volume measurements obtained using VeVMD.

The Biopsychosocial Correlates Of Chronic Pelvic Pain And Quality Of Life In Women Attending A Specialty Pelvic Pain Clinic, Elisabeth A. Johnson

Elisabeth A Johnson

Background: Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) in women causes significant disability and distress. Like other chronic pain conditions, psychosocial variables likely play as key a role in the development and maintenance of CPP as physiological ones. The purposes of this study were to use the Biopsychosocial model to determine the predictors of pain and quality of life (QOL) and to specifically examine to effect of baseline catastrophizing on 12-month pain and QOL.

Methods: Secondary analysis of baseline and 12-month data collected from women presenting for CPP treatment (n = 673) at a tertiary referral center was performed. Questionnaires assessed medical symptoms, …

African American Caregiving Grandmothers: Results Of An Intervention To Improve Health Indicators And Health Promotion Behaviors, Susan Kelley, Deborah M. Whitley, Peter Campos

Deborah M. Whitley

The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of an intervention to improve the health of grandmothers raising grandchildren. A pre- and post-test design was employed with 504 African American grandmother participants. The intervention included monthly home-based visitation by registered nurses (RNs) and social workers, participation in support groups and parenting classes, referrals for legal services, and early intervention services for children with special needs. The Health Risk Appraisal was used to assess health indicators and health promotion behaviors. A comparison of pre- and post-test scores indicated significant (p < .002) changes in the desired direction for a number of health indicators and health promotion behaviors, including blood pressure, annual routine cancer screenings, frequency of weekly exercise, and improved dietary intake, as well as participants’ perception of their health and life satisfaction. No improvements were observed in the proportion of participants who were obese or overweight.

Application Of The Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory To The Care Of Children With Special Health Care Needs In The School Setting, Rebecca D. Green

Rebecca D. Green

The purpose of this article is to describe how practicing school nurses can apply the basic tenets of Orem’s Self-Care DeficitNursing Theory to children with special health care needs and demonstrate its applicability in the school setting. Children with disability are identified as individual members of a vulnerable population whose status is considered within a framework of self-care. Keywords: Orem, children with special health care needs, self-care, school health

Fall Prevention In Hospitals: An Integrative Review, Sandra Spoelstra

Sandra L. Spoelstra, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN

Labyrinth Walking In Corrections, Donna M. Zucker

Donna M. Zucker

A 6 week labyrinth walking program was pilot tested in a correctional setting and goals were to: 1) determine the feasibility of a labyrinth walking curriculum; 2) pilot test measures of health related quality of life (QOL) (pre and post-surveys) and blood pressure; and 3) examine the influence of relationship-centered teaching on subject satisfaction. Relational communication was used as a framework for this study, emphasizing concepts of trust, competency and similarly in the teacher. A pretest/posttest descriptive design was used. The sample was 14 offenders at a Massachusetts county jail. The intervention included six 90 minute sessions, composed of a …